Musick: Glimpses say little about Bears’ offense
TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2013
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Club professional Allen Brown
Residents sue over bleachers
So long, summer Districts 15 and 156 first in county to head back to class
D-155 receives lawsuit Monday; work temporarily stops at school By JEFF ENGELHARDT jengelhardt@shawmedia.com
Photos by Lathan Goumas – lgoumas@shawmedia.com
Brent Anderlik, 10, hugs his mother, Kelly Anderlik, on his first day of fifth grade Monday at Chauncey H. Duker School in McHenry. TOP: Duker Vice Principal Rich Vannoy greets students on the first day of school. By JIM DALLKE jdallke@shawmedia.com
W
ith the video recorder running on his smartphone, Don Hensley followed his son, Tyson, from the parking lot to the entrance of Chauncey H. Duker School for his first day of fifth grade.
“Dad’s videotaping me. It’s embarrassing,” Tyson said to his friends as they headed down the hallway of the McHenry school. Hensley was bent over in laughter. Monday wasn’t just Tyson’s first day; it also was a first for Hensley, who has never been able to take his son to the first day of school.
Divorced from Tyson’s mother, Hensley has always conceded the first day of school. “It’s always fallen on her day,” he said. “I’ve always stayed off on the sidelines and waited for my week. … Last year, even though I
See CLASS, page A6
WHEN STUDENTS GO BACK: Here’s a list of when area students return to school. • Nippersink District 2: Aug. 21 • Fox River Grove District 3: Aug. 21 • Johnsburg District 12: Aug. 20 • McHenry Elementary District 15: Started Monday • Riley District 18: Aug. 20
• Alden-Hebron District 19: Aug. 19 • Cary District 26: Aug. 26 • Harrison District 36: Aug. 21 • Prairie Grove District 46: Aug. 21 • Crystal Lake District 47: Aug. 28
• Harvard District 50: Aug. 21 • Marengo High School District 154: Aug. 19 • Crystal Lake High School District 155: Aug. 26 • McHenry High School District 156: Started Monday • Richmond-Burton High
School District 157: Aug. 21 • Huntley District 158: Aug. 21 • Marengo-Union District 165: Aug. 19 • Woodstock District 200: Thursday • Carpentersville District 300: Wednesday
CRYSTAL LAKE – A pair of Crystal Lake residents, as well as McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi, sued Crystal Lake High School District 155 on Monday, putting a temporary stop to bleacher expansion at Crystal Lake South High School. Johnnie Thomas, superintendent of District 155, told more than 20 people in attendance for a community meeting Monday night on the contentious bleacher expansion project that the district no longer could discuss the project after receiving a lawsuit at roughly 5 p.m. Monday that came on the heels of a stopwork order. The nine-page complaint asks for an injunction, claiming that the district failed to go through the process to obtain city permits for variations that would greatly change the area by increasing seating capacity to about 3,800, creating potential flood hazards and requiring potentially more than 1,200 parking spaces. Lawyer Michael Burney, a 2002 Prairie Ridge High School graduate, said the district is not above city ordinances and found it peculiar that officials bypassed the process after obtaining permits through the city for the past 25 years when doing large projects. “We are asking that any structure put in place is made
State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi, along with a pair of Crystal Lake residents, has sued District 155, claiming the district failed to go through the process to obtain city permits for its bleacher expansion at Crystal Lake South High School. Bianchi owns property that he rents out on Amberwood Drive and said the decision to file a lawsuit was for safety issues. “We are all interested in keeping Crystal Lake a safe and peaceful place to raise a family,” he said. in compliance with city’s code of ordinances,” Burney said. “For the past 25 years, that has been the course of conduct. It’s never been a question.” Bianchi, who owns property that he rents out on Amberwood Drive, said the decision to file a lawsuit was for safety issues that were being ignored by not getting city approval. Bianchi is one of three plantiffs along with his wife and Amberwood Drive resident Jeff Gurba – husband of Kim Maselbas, who has been vocal about the effect the expansion will have on potential flooding and property values. Bianchi added that he was acting only as a concerned resident and not as state’s attorney.
See LAWSUIT, page A6
Referendum advances for 2-year County Board chairman terms By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – A McHenry County Board committee decided that four years is too long a term for a popularly elected board chairman. The Management Services Committee voted Monday to recommend putting a referendum onto the March
ballot asking voters whether they want to elect the chairman every two years. The chairman now is elected after every November election from among the 24-member County Board. Committee members voted, 5-2, to amend the resolution that originally called for a four-year term like all other countywide elected offic-
es. It then voted, 6-1, to send it to the full County Board for a vote. Member Michael Walkup, R-Crystal Lake, proposed the amendment. Supporters called a twoyear elected term the best way to keep the office accountable, while opponents said that the terms would promote incumbency by limiting candidates to those
LOCALLY SPEAKING Michelle Genzlinger, founder of An Extra Boost Of…
with the financial means to run every other year. “We’d have a two-year term in place – it increases the accountability and responsibility of this office,” said supporter Donna Kurtz, R-Crystal Lake. The resolution will go before the full County Board
The McHenry County Board Management Services Committee voted Monday, 6-1, to recommend a referendum asking voters whether they want to popularly elect the board chairman every two years. The original proposed resolution called for a four-year term, but committee members voted, 5-2, to amend it. Voting “yes” on the amendment were Michael Walkup, R-Crystal Lake; Donna Kurtz, R-Crystal Lake; Ersel Schuster, R-Woodstock; John Hammerand, R-Wonder Lake; and Chairwoman Paula Yensen, D-Lake in the Hills. Voting “no” were Anna May Miller, R-Cary; and Michael Skala, R-Huntley. Schuster voted against moving the referendum forward.
McHENRY COUNTY
ALGONQUIN
CRISIS PROGRAM AND POLICE COLLABORATE
JAGER WILL RUN FOR STEEPLECHASE TITLE
To help increase knowledge when dealing with mental health situations, the Algonquin Police Department and the McHenry County Crisis Program have started a new collaborative effort. The entities have partnered to provide reciprocal support for encounters with people who have potential mental health issues. For
Evan Jager will run for the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase title at the IAAF Track and Field World Championships on Thursday in Moscow. Jager, a 2007 Jacobs graduate, won his preliminary heat in the steeplechase early Monday in 8:23.77. The time was one of his slower ones, but all that mattered was placing in the top three. For more, see page C1.
more, see page B1.
Lathan Goumas – lgoumasshawmedia.com
See TERMS, page A6
What it means
CRYSTAL LAKE: Woman starts giftware line after battle with breast cancer. Business, B4
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